Be Advised - Mary Free Bed Advisory Group Podcast

In the latest episode of the Advisory Group Podcast, “Be Advised,” we learn about the Mary Free Bed Guild. Our guest is Meg Derrer, program director of the Mary Free Bed Guild and a passionate community advocate.

The history of Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital dates back to 1891, when a small group of women set out to help people who couldn’t afford health care. Seeking support from the local Grand Rapids community, they passed around a little black purse asking anyone named Mary – and anyone who knew someone named Mary – to donate 10 cents. Mary was the most popular woman’s name at the time, so the group quickly raised enough money to fund a bed at a local hospital. That became known as the first “Mary free bed.”

As the needs for care in the community grew, so did the group of volunteers. The group incorporated in 1911 as the Mary Free Bed Guild of Grand Rapids. Now 120 women strong, the Guild has representation on all hospital boards and committees. Its reach extends into the community, where the Guild donates to dozens of organizations dedicated to furthering the quality of life for people with disabilities.

On this episode, Meg Derrer talks with the “co-advisors” about Guild services, support and sponsorships of hospital and community events. She shares how the Guild is a keeper of the culture at Mary Free Bed – helping to ensure positive experiences and better futures for patients.

Derrer also shares her growth in community involvement and walks listeners through how they can make their own personal mission statement.

For questions about this or other “Be Advised” podcasts email us at: [email protected]

 Learn more about the Mary Free Bed Guild. 

 Find out more about the Advisory Group. 

The Mary Free Bed Advisory Group’s podcast, “Be Advised,” is back with its eighth episode. Special guest is Dr. Ralph Wang, a Mary Free Bed physician, who discusses his role at the hospital, including involvement with its COVID-19 ReCOVery Program, and offers input on the importance of transitions of care.

Dr. Wang is a physiatrist – a physician who specializes in physical medicine and rehabilitation. An employee since 2019, he cares for adult inpatients with a variety of diagnoses at Mary Free Bed’s main campus in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He earned his medical degree at Northwestern University and completed his residency at the Baylor College of Medicine and TIRR Memorial Hermann. He served as Illinois medical director for U.S. Physiatry prior to joining Mary Free Bed.

“Be Advised” is hosted by Joyal Pavey, vice president of the Advisory Group. The podcast spotlights the field of medical rehabilitation and why it’s a critical component of health care. 

In our latest episode of “Be Advised,” we discuss home health and skilled nursing facilities and how they partner with inpatient rehabilitation programs.

Home care, sub-acute, and skilled nursing facilities play a vital role in the post-acute continuum of care, and when that care is well coordinated, patients can sustain better outcomes.

But, how do you actually help patients and staff with the changing reimbursement models and the current health care environments?

 Our guests on this episode of “Be Advised,” the Mary Free Bed Advisory Group Podcast, will help us answer that! 

 For this episode you’ll meet Kiersten Cudney, LNHA, MPA, Administrator for Mary Free Bed Sub-Acute Rehabilitation, and Trey Kubizna, Regional Director and Administrator for Mary Free Bed at Home.

For questions about this or other “Be Advised” podcasts email us at: [email protected] 

Advisory Group: https://www.maryfreebed.com/about-us/mary-free-bed-advisory-group/ 

Mary Free Bed Sub-Acute Rehabilitation: https://www.maryfreebed.com/conditions/sub-acute/ 

Mary Free Bed at Home: https://www.maryfreebed.com/mary-free-bed-at-home/ 

The "Be Advised" team talks nursing in our latest episode.  Jeannette Pollatz,  director of Interprofessional Education at Mary Free Bed, joins the conversation to discuss nursing engagement and education. 

Nursing and nurse leadership is critical to any organization.  Patient satisfaction and outcomes are often directly impacted by nursing. Hospitals with poor nurse engagement and high nursing turnover tend to struggle with achieving satisfaction and outcome goals.  Building an environment where your nursing teams are engaged, valued and supported not only supports outcomes and patient safety, but creates a cohesive team culture. 

In this episode, Jeannette will share her perspective on how the needs of nursing education have changed over the last several years and how the recent COVID 19 pandemic has impacted the ability of some organizations to retain nurses. 
 

In our newest episode of “Be Advised,” host Joyal Pavey talks with Lorissa MacAllister, president and founder of Enviah, a health care design firm. She shares how removing barriers can improve staff success and patient satisfaction. Mary Free Bed CEO Kent Riddle joins the podcast to discuss how Enviah assisted Mary Free Bed to address growth.

Lorissa MacAllister, AIA, NCARB, LEED AP, is a thought leader in the healthcare and transformative design fields, and she focuses on the way people interact with – and are affected by—the physical environment. With a background in architecture and medical social work, MacAllister has blended her experience to pioneer a unique, evidence-based approach in the health care industry and beyond. 

Kent Riddle is the president and CEO of Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital. Riddle, originally an engineer, realigned his career path after his wife suffered a traumatic brain injury and recovered at Mary Free Bed. He’s been the CEO since 2011 and led the organization through a $66 million dollar expansion and renovation project while helping it grow into one of the nation’s largest rehabilitation systems.

Jason Peoples joins the Be Advised podcast to discuss virtual care, telemedicine and how to accelerate the meaningful use of these mediums in acute care and rehabilitation.

Jason is the Director of Technology and Innovation at Mary Free Bed. He has 12 years of experience in health care, with his last five years at Mary Free Bed. Jason was instrumental in the development of Mary Free Bed’s virtual care programs leading up to and during the pandemic.

 In this episode, Jason shares his experience and insight on health care organizations can best utilize virtual services to help patients have the best experience. 

Dr. Allan J. Kozlowski joins the Be Advised podcast to discuss how outcomes research aligns with care transitions. 

Allan J. Kozlowski, Ph.D., serves as the Director of Outcomes Research at the John F. Butzer Center for Research & Innovation and Assistant Professor in the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at Michigan State University College of Human Medicine. He’s been instrumental in the development of many of the Advisory Group care transitions services and many other research based initiatives at Mary Free Bed and Michigan State University. 

The second episode of Be Advised features Dr. W. Christian VandenBerg,  who joins us to discuss aligning Care Transitions and Patient Access. 

Dr. VandenBerg is medical director of Access at Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital. He specializes in cancer rehabilitation, traumatic and non-traumatic neurological impairments (spinal cord injury, brain injury, stroke and multiple sclerosis) and spasticity/dystonia. He has been a staff member since 1989.

Dr. VandenBerg is a graduate of the Michigan State College of Human Medicine and completed his PM&R residency through Northwestern University at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago.

The Mary Free Bed Advisory Group is proud to launch its podcast "Be Advised." In our first episode, meet the team behind the advisory group, including Chief Strategy Officer Jeff Garber. Learn how our expertise can align with your team’s talents.